From what time is it right to say “good morning” and from what time “good evening”: different cultures and habits

Have you ever wished “Good morning” and to receive, in exchange, a “Good evening”?The way people mark time through daily greetings is a reflection of cultural habitsrhythms of life and also historical conventions.

There is no universal, official rule that establishes when morning becomes afternoon or when afternoon turns into evening. In Italy, by convention, good morning is usually used until the early afternoon, between 1.00 pm and 2.00 pm, while good evening comes in around 5.00 pm, but things can also change from region to region. If in some cultures the transition is linked more definitively to the clock or to the setting of the sun, in others it depends on meal times or linguistic heritage: thus the forms of greeting can be the mirror of different national identities.

From what time to say “good morning” and “good evening” in Italy

“Good morning” and “good evening” derive from the phrases “good morning” and “good evening”. Both greeting formulas, as reported by theTreccani Encyclopediaare attested for the first time in fourteenth-century written Italian. However, there is no standardized linguistic evidence and it is not possible to clearly define the exact moment at which we switch from one to the other. In formal or bureaucratic language, the dividing line is often set at 1pm for the afternoon and 5pm for the evening, but in everyday use the boundary is fluid and strongly influenced by regional customs.

In northern regionsthe “good evening” is usually introduced in the late afternoon, from 4.00pm to 5.00pm onwards. In the Central-Southhowever, the threshold is earlier: in Tuscany, but also in Lazio or Campania it is common to hear “good evening” from the very early afternoon, immediately after lunch. There are those who, instead of referring to a specific time slot, refer to sunset: in this case, however, we must take into account whether we are in summer, with longer days and the darkness that comes later, or in winter.

To act as a bridge between the morning and the evening there is the expression “Good afternoon“. For decades, however, this greeting was not rooted in the Italian colloquial tradition, considered a foreign linguistic calque or a formal formula typical of television and radio language, preferring the direct transition from “good morning” to “good evening”. And “good evening” and “good night”? They are usually used to say goodbye.

Greetings from France

In Francethe use of greetings is usually tied to the end of the working day or when the sun goes down, making the transition from “bonjour” to “bonsoir” generally more predictable.

The word “bonjour” (good morning) is the universal meeting greeting used throughout the day, from morning until around 5 or 6 pm – also depending on the light conditions. Formulas such as “bon matin” (good morning) or “bon après-midi” (good afternoon) are not normally used as meeting greetings: the first exists in Quebec, the second is used in France but to say goodbye. After 5-6pm the “bonsoir” (good evening) greeting takes over.

In France, compared to Italian, particular attention must be paid to the distinction between meeting greetings and farewell greetings: expressions such as “bonne journée” (good day) and “bonne soirée” (good evening) are never used to introduce oneself, but only to say goodbye when leaving.

How it works in Spain

In Iberian languagesincluding Spanish, there is a peculiar division of the day into three main time slots, which somewhat simplifies the transition of greetings. In Spain the time rules therefore follow this approximate general setting:

• “Buenos días” (good morning) covers the morning, from dawn until lunchtime (which can also be very late);
• “Buenas tardes” overlaps conceptually with the Italian “buon afternoon” and is used from approximately after lunch until the evening;
• “Buenas noches” is generally used from the evening onwards, often after sunset or after dinner. In Spanish this single form combines the Italian “buonasera” and “buonanotte”, and can be used both as an evening meeting greeting and as a farewell wish before bed.

In many countriesLatin America the singular form “buen día” is used instead of the plural “buenos días”. Then there are the informal formulas “Muy buenas” and “Buenas”, which can be used at any time of the day, a bit like our “’giorno!” or “’night!”.

“Good morning” and English AM or PM

In greetings in Anglo-Saxon speaking countries, such as England and the United Statesthe time partition follows the acronyms AM and PM and tends to follow more defined time conventions:

• “Good morning” is in effect from waking up until noon;
• “Good afternoon” usually starts at midday (12:00 PM) and extends until 6:00 PM or until sunset, depending on the light conditions and context;
• “Good evening” is pronounced approximately from 6pm onwards (until 9pm or midnight);
• In English the formula “Good night” is never used as a form of greeting when meeting, regardless of how late it is, and is only used to say goodbye or to wish a good sleep before going to bed.

Greetings to the rest of the world

In Germanythe language offers a temporal succession where after the morning “Guten Morgen”, the generic “Guten Tag” (have a good day) comes into play. German does not normally use a widespread equivalent of “good afternoon”: although the literal expression Guten Nachmittag exists, they rarely tend to use it as a direct greeting (it is a more formal expression or used as a farewell), preferring to move from Guten Tag directly to “Guten Abend” (good evening) as evening falls. Then there is the “Mahlzeit!”, a typical German greeting used around lunch time (especially in work contexts): it literally means “meal time” and corresponds to our “bon appetit” or “enjoy your lunch”.

In Portugalthe system reflects the Spanish one: the day after the morning is divided between the “boa tarde” of the afternoon hours and “boa noite” for the evening and night time, here too enclosing the meanings of good evening and good night in a single word.

Then there are cultures around the world that, instead of focusing on a greeting that depends on the time of day, express wishes for well-being or spiritual values, remaining identical: for example the Hebrew “Shalom” (peace), the Arabic “As-salamu alaykum” (peace be with you), or the Hawaiian “Aloha” (a term with a broad meaning, linked to love, affection and compassion).